by RJ Blain
“You seem to do that a lot. Is there a reason you keep falling off the bed?”
“It’s your fault.”
“How is it my fault? I’d keep you in bed with me all the time if I had my way. As there’d be no leaving bed, I’m not at fault for this.”
I sighed, got to my knees, and glared at him. “Anderson.”
“I love when you growl my name like that.”
Throwing my hands in the air, I got up and headed for the bathroom, cursing him, cursing Basin, cursing everything that had led up to me falling off the bed again. “You’re impossible!”
“You like it.”
While I huffed my disgust, I couldn’t argue, so I made a strategic retreat, closing the bathroom door.
“You should invite me in.”
I glared at the door while my shameless wolf made it perfectly clear she’d redefined the base usage of bathrooms, especially showers. “That depends.”
“On what?” he purred on the other side of the door.
Who was I kidding? That he wasn’t screaming at me for ditching him in Yellowknife had me so relieved I’d let him in for that reason alone. Still, I had to at least play the part a little. “If you yell at me, you’re staying in the bedroom.”
“I have better things to do than yell at you right now. I’ll subject you to a very soft spoken but sincere scolding later.”
“You better make this good, Mr. Anderson.”
His laughter warmed me. “My, my. You’re a demanding princess this morning. I suppose you do deserve a very good reward.”
“That sounds promising.” I opened the door. “Deadbolt the door so that nosy Alpha doesn’t bother us.”
“And the puppies?”
“The nosy Alpha’s babysitting the puppies. I’m sure they’ll keep each other entertained for at least a few minutes.”
His smile made me think he had far more plans for me than I anticipated. “A few minutes? Oh, no. I’m going to need a lot more than a few minutes. Not only will I deadbolt the door, but I’ll tell a few busybodies if we’re disturbed, I will be arranging their schedules until the day they die.”
“That’s a very potent threat, Mr. Anderson. You’ve obviously been learning from me.”
“Anything else I should add?”
“Breakfast.”
“I’ll pen in breakfast for an hour from now. You do need to be well-fed for what I have in mind for us.”
My wolf approved, as did I.
Chapter Thirty-Two
I should’ve known better than to underestimate Elliot. While he did order breakfast, he lured me into the tub, turned on the jets, and lulled me to sleep with soft murmurs and a few nips. He treated me like I’d treated Nicole and the other two witches, as though convinced if he didn’t feed me sufficiently, I would wither away or sicken.
He was probably right, so I surrendered to his inevitable pampering and ignored my wolf’s disappointment. I’d never admit it to anyone, but my wolf and I both liked when he insisted on feeding me tidbits of sausage without the help of a fork. From the tub, he lured me back to the bed, and I resumed my nap without any encouragement on his part.
One day soon, I really hoped Richard’s deep voice would stop waking me up. My mate’s growls worried my wolf until she realized our Alpha was the source of his displeasure.
Somewhere nearby, my puppies snickered, which convinced me the two males were indulging in typical male stupidity. “Will you two shut up already?” I cracked open an eye and spotted Richard by the door, his arms crossed and glaring at Elliot, who was sitting at my feet, where he did me no good. “What’s the problem now?”
“Alex refuses to let Richard go to the hospital, and Richard’s expecting me to override Alex.”
“And why isn’t Alex letting Richard visit Nicole?”
“It’s two in the afternoon, he keeps biting, and I’m surprised he still remembers English at this point.”
“Maybe that’s because he needs to see his mate, you idiots. Richard, no biting. If you bite anyone, your visitation rights are revoked. Get out of my room, take those puppies of mine with you, and let me get dressed. And if they haven’t had their showers yet today, get them cleaned up and in a change of clothes, too. We’ll go with you.”
Richard huffed his victory, grabbed my puppies, and dragged them out of the room.
“That’s cheating,” Elliot complained.
“He needs time with her.” I managed to get out of bed without falling to the floor, stretched, and yawned. “I’m also making him a long-term babysitter until she’s better.”
“They do like him a lot. He’s going to steal our puppies.”
“I’ll beat him if he tries.”
“You have my undivided attention.”
I twisted around and arched a brow. “What’s your problem today, Anderson?”
“You tricked me, got away with it, pulled a miracle out of your ass—all while scaring the life out of me—and I can’t even scold you about it because you pulled a miracle out of your ass.”
“I haven’t found Dante.”
“But you found Nicole. Nicole was alive. It’s possible he is, too. It’s possible they’re holding him somewhere else. There’s still hope we can find him alive.”
I frowned, but as I couldn’t argue with his logic, I nodded my agreement. “Where’s Snowflake?”
“Under the bed. Richard bit him and the puppies cried, so I confiscated the fox.”
“Richard bit Snowflake? But why?”
“Another pair of destroyed shoes, apparently.”
Laughing, I dropped to the floor on my knees and looked under the bed, spotting the fox near the middle, out of easy reach. I patted the floor. “Come here, Snowflake.”
The fox squeaked and jumped at me, jabbing me with his nose. I held him close, nuzzling him.
“I’m so jealous right now.”
I lifted my head and sniffed, and sure enough, Elliot was jealous of the small canine. Shaking my head, I got to my feet, still carrying the animal. “Poor Elliot. Is this what Evelyn was trying to tell me about Anderson males needing attention?”
“Indeed. You should listen to her, as she’s right.”
I drew in a deep breath. Evelyn was right, and the time had come for me to commit to him as much as he had committed to me, in word as much as deed. I had already admitted the truth to myself, but I feared speaking the words. Elliot watched me, and as the silence stretched on, he frowned, and his worries reflected in his eyes.
“Elliot.”
“What’s wrong, Vicky?”
All I needed to say was three words. Why was it so difficult? Lifting my chin, I looked him in the eyes and blurted, “I love you.”
He blinked, the corners of his mouth twitched, and he dissolved into a fit of helpless laughter, melting onto the bed, pounding the covers with his fist. My face burned. “Elliot!” I wailed.
“S-sorry,” he gasped, sliding to the floor where he continued to chortle. “It was your expression. You looked like you were swallowing a frog.”
I sighed. “Lovely.”
“You are. That’s why I love you. I accept your declaration of love, and I’m sorry I laughed, but I couldn’t help it. You’re so cute.”
Me? Cute? “Are you feeling all right?”
“Never better.”
I needed to return to safer waters before I embarrassed myself further, although my nose informed me that Elliot wasn’t exaggerating.
His joy was so strong it deadened my nose to any other scent.
I definitely needed to change the subject and fast. “How's Evelyn doing?”
“She’s very, very pregnant, very, very cranky, and the instant she found out you’d found Nicole, the screaming started. Richard isn’t letting her fly here, and the entire pack is backing him on it, as is little Jaqueline. So, she started issuing demands we bring Nicole home to her. She’s gone into mothering mode.”
“As is proper. She’s about to become a mother.”
“I’m not sure Nicole will appreciate it when she wakes up to discover she’s been cornered by an army of mother hens. Actually, I expect the instant she’s capable, she’ll start lighting people on fire. Desmond and Wendy are already on route to Yellowknife to prepare.” Elliot lowered his voice and nodded in the direction of the door. “I expect the doctors to give the all clear to fly her out sometime tonight. Unbeknownst to Richard, he’ll be the pilot, so after you let him visit her, since you’ve ruined my plans to knock him out so he can get some sleep, you need to deal with him. He needs eight hours minimum before he flies anything.”
“Why didn’t you just tell him he needed to nap so he can take Nicole home tonight?”
Elliot scowled. “Do you think that’ll actually work?”
I secured my bathrobe, headed to the door, and asked, “Which room is he in?”
“Turn right, next door down.”
I knocked on Richard’s door, and when he answered, he was adjusting his tie. “That’s not dressed, Vicky.”
“What if I told you I have to knock you out for eight hours so you could take Nicole home tonight?”
Without hesitation, Richard presented his throat. I blinked. “I don’t think it’s necessary for me to bite you to get you to go to sleep.”
“I was merely answering your question in a straightforward fashion even you would understand.”
“I’m getting dressed, we’re going to visit Nicole long enough for you to see her, then we’re coming back so you can get some sleep so you can fly the plane. I’ve been told you need eight hours of sleep before you can safely fly the plane. Are you going to cooperate without biting anyone?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” At a loss of how to show him I meant well, I patted his shoulder. “She’s going to be all right, Richard. She has you, after all.”
I headed back to the room I shared with Elliot and escaped before Richard could say anything that would inevitably embarrass us both.
The visit went about as well as expected. While my puppies were well acquainted with death, they didn’t understand why Nicole hung in the balance, neither dead nor alive. I didn’t think Richard did, either.
Elliot had told me it wasn’t the first time our Alpha had been forced to watch his mate struggle for survival in a coma. I’d also learned Richard had waited for an entire year to find out if she’d ever awaken, and when she finally had, she’d had no memory of him and the life they’d been building together. Richard’s slumped shoulders and the scent of his misery while he waited at her bedside made me understand, a little, why Alex and Elliot had hesitated to bring our Alpha to his mate’s side.
It hurt watching him.
I suspected I understood why Richard had done so much talking with his teeth. Without his aggression, he became a tired, broken man resigned to waiting, the life leeched out of his eyes, haunted by old memories and his fear.
While she still lived, would she ever awaken? I couldn’t answer that. I doubted anyone could, not even the doctors, so I didn’t ask, not even when they were in the room waiting in case we had questions.
No one did.
At least the hospital, fully operated by the Inquisition and closed to the general public, let Snowflake into the room. The animal sat on Elliot’s feet, scratching every now and then at the collar we’d inflicted on him.
I frowned, looked at my mate, and asked, “What’s the date?”
He told me, and I lifted both my brows as I counted the days; it had taken me just over two weeks to find Nicole, and when I looked out the window, I could barely tell it was winter. The weather had snapped back to its usual course, and life had moved on as though nothing had happened.
Had I done that, too? Had I somehow restored the weather to its proper path? I hadn’t thought it could be done, not with the extent and severity of the storms. Another possibility existed; Dante’s magic had been entangled with mine. His magic could wake volcanoes.
Even thinking about the depth of his power made me shiver, but I thought of the man who wielded the magic, and my fear fell away.
Dante was Dante, and he’d been an accidental menace at worst. He hadn’t asked to be shot by his psychotic ex. Otherwise, his biggest aspirations in life were spending every moment he could catching up with his little girl and showering Evelyn with the attention she deserved.
Snowflake whined, reached over, and pawed at my leg, and unable to resist the fox’s charms, I stooped down to pick him up. “We should go, Richard. You have a long flight ahead of you tonight, and you need sleep.”
He nodded, leaned over, kissed his mate’s cheek, brushed her hair away from her face, and rose. His immediate obedience bothered me even more than the faraway look in his eyes, and my puppies looked at me, their whines echoing Snowflake’s.
Alex glared at me, and I narrowed my eyes without flinching away. Tired of the Second’s scrutiny, I showed him my teeth before growling, “If that were me, I’d want Elliot near, even if I wasn’t aware of it.”
Richard’s brother flinched as though I’d slapped him across the face.
“Be nice, Vicky,” Richard murmured, and he stepped to me, forced a small smile, and flicked my nose with his finger.
I bit him hard enough to make him bleed, and I growled another warning.
“Elliot, I think your bitch has a serious case of cranky.” Richard wisely kept his hand still and waited for me to release him. I didn’t. “I think she’s also accepted you’re not letting her get away. Good work. Now you just have to step up your seduction game.”
I spit out Richard’s finger along with some of his blood. “You have reached your allotted amount of sulking for today. You’re upsetting my puppies.”
“Hear that, kids? All you have to do to get revenge on me is pretend you’re upset. Then your mom is ready to get—”
I balled my hand into a fist and drove it into Richard’s gut so hard he gasped and doubled over. Unsatisfied with that, I flicked my finger so hard against the side of his throat he crumpled to the floor in a heap. “What an infuriating man.”
My puppies gaped at me with wide eyes, and my Alex pointed at Richard. “Did you kill him?”
Richard’s Alex cackled. “No, but I keep forgetting she’s an Alpha, and apparently a stronger one than I thought.”
I bent over, set Snowflake on Richard’s back, grabbed my Alpha’s foot, and dragged him towards the door. “Less talking, more getting him out of here before he wakes up.”
“Is there any reason he couldn’t have walked out on his own?” Elliot asked, joining me, and grabbing Richard’s other foot. “I won’t lie. I’ve always wanted to do something like this. The expressions on the doctors’ faces will be priceless.”
“Will you grow up?”
“Not if I can help it,” my mate replied, flashing me a grin.
I had underestimated Richard’s exhaustion and the toll Nicole’s condition had taken on him. He didn’t stir when we arrived at the hotel, and Alex had to carry him to their room. It occurred to me I hadn’t seen Lisa, and I frowned, following after our pack’s Second. “Alex, where are Lisa and Amber?”
“They’re taking an enforced nap,” he replied. “They’ve been worse messes than Richard.”
While I found that difficult to believe, I didn’t argue with him and let it go. “Puppies, how do you feel about helping Alex play babysitter tonight?”
Emily bounced and clapped her hands. “Can we play games again, Mr. Alex?”
Richard’s Alex chuckled. “Sure. Beats watching my brother sleep off your mom’s cruelty.”
“He was anxious. Her wolf didn’t like it,” Emily replied with her most defiant, delicate sniffle. “Mom’s never cruel. She’s just a bit direct sometimes.”
Elliot snickered, wrapped his arm around my waist, and tugged me to him. “Ain’t that the truth.”
I’d bite him in retaliation later, but my wolf had a few good ideas of how to best make use of him—and prove him correct on th
e issue. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Showering you with my affection.”
“Please don’t kill him, Mom. For some reason I can’t begin to understand, I actually like him,” my Alex muttered.
I struggled to keep my expression and tone neutral. “If there are no witnesses to this so-called affection, I’ll have fewer reasons to kill him.”
The unwanted audience made a strategic retreat to Richard’s room, leaving Elliot and I alone in the hallway. Even Snowflake made a run for it, darting away with his leash dragging behind him.
“I’m impressed. You even got Alex to move like he means it. Does my affection embarrass you that much?”
“Yes.”
My mate sighed. “The worst part about this? I can’t tell if you’re yanking my chain or not.”
Allowing myself a smile, I escaped his hold and strolled towards our room, pausing at Richard’s door long enough to call out, “Don’t stay up too late, you cretins.”
The muffled chorus of acknowledgment pleased me, and I waited by the door for Elliot to unlock it and let us in. He herded me inside and engaged the deadbolt. “We should probably talk now that we won’t be interrupted, at least not for a while.”
I tensed. “About what?”
“What happened with your witchcraft, Nicole, us.”
Ouch. Alone, each subject would cause misery and heartache. Addressed together, I worried about the consequences. I lifted my chin, bracing for the worst. “Okay. Let’s talk. You’re going to be angry, but I shot myself in the leg with the silver bullet, and Nicole’s stone helped a bit. Then I decided it was worth the risks to see what I could do to help find Nicole and Dante. And I mean to find your brother, Elliot.”
“Did you try the silver bullet after knowing what happened to Dante when he had been shot?”
Huh. Thinking about it, that would have been smart. “No, but I regret I hadn’t thought of that.”
“I love your honesty. You’re absolutely terrified of the answers—of this talk, I reckon—but you refuse to let your fear deter you from the truth.” Elliot smiled, took hold of my hand, and kissed my knuckles. “You have nothing to be afraid of. I just wanted to hear your reason why. Never mistake it, Vicky. I love my brother dearly. I always have. I always will, even if we don’t find him. I’ve always known it was possible this day might come. That’s why I have to do what I have to do. I have to keep looking at the future. You’re my future. Because of my worries and cowardice, I almost lost you and the puppies. You deserved better than my half-assed hesitancies. Had I been more aggressive about pursuing you from the start, Markus wouldn’t have been able to do what he had done.”
